Cross-training is a debated topic in this sub and I wish there had been more race/training reports featuring a cross-training heavy approach. Since I just completed my first marathon using a triathlon-inspired approach, I figured I'd share even though I'm usually not inclined to make it about me.

TL;DR: Race went below expectations, probably because sub-par my muscular endurance did not keep up with my pretty good aerobic fitness.

Race Information

• Name: Capital City Marathon
• Date: May 17th, 2026
• Distance: 26.2 miles
• Location: Olympia, WA
• Time: 3:51:17

Goals

Goal	Description	Completed?
A	Finish Strong	Not really
B	Sub 3:40	No
C	Sub 3:30	No

Splits

Mi	Pace	GAP	HR (max. ~195)
1	8:09/mi	8:10/mi	152bpm
2	8:21/mi	8:18/mi	151bpm
3	8:18/mi	7:58/mi	155bpm
4	8:25/mi	8:07/mi	158bpm
5	8:14/mi	8:02/mi	155bpm
6	8:04/mi	8:06/mi	152bpm
7	8:19/mi	8:08/mi	152bpm
8	8:26/mi	8:20/mi	151bpm
9	7:51/mi	8:08/mi	150bpm
10	8:51/mi	8:10/mi	153bpm
11	8:20/mi	8:16/mi	153bpm
12	8:47/mi	8:22/mi	152bpm
13	8:13/mi	8:15/mi	151bpm
14	8:21/mi	8:19/mi	152bpm
15	8:59/mi	8:37/mi	151bpm
16	8:33/mi	8:24/mi	153bpm
17	8:26/mi	8:18/mi	155bpm
18	8:17/mi	8:12/mi	157bpm
19	8:25/mi	8:20/mi	156bpm
20	9:31/mi	9:25/mi	150bpm
21	8:47/mi	8:49/mi	155bpm
22	8:43/mi	9:03/mi	155bpm
23	9:11/mi	8:34/mi	158bpm
24	8:50/mi	8:35/mi	159bpm
25	9:26/mi	9:27/mi	155bpm
26	11:20/mi	11:33/mi	144bpm
27	12:45/mi	13:41/mi	133bpm

Background

This was my first marathon.

Did an IM70.3 in 2024, followed by a summer of hiking. Tried to run a Marathon in 2025 on Pfitz 18/55 but started with too low mileage and bailed due to onset of injury and general being in over my head. Pivoted to training for a swimrun (race in September 2025 with 21mi of running, 3mi of swimming - highly recommend). Finished the race strong but had an slight ankle injury after. In recovery, re-discovered my love for cycling. Got a slight knee niggle in January 2026 due to too much stuff (running, cycling, XC-skiing) at the same time. None of these injuries were catastrophic but they did hamper building base mileage. Got to 25mpw just before my 12 week block for which I decided to follow a triathlon-inspired marathon training plan, specifically this one: https://www.triathlete.com/training/workouts/marathon-training-plan-for-triathletes/ The main reasons being:

• I enjoy cycling and swimming
• Trying to stay injury free with cross training
• I want to do more triathlons later in the year anyway

Frankly, I was skeptical that I could pull of the marathon because I was, again, at the start line (of the training plan) with a too low base. I decided to just see how far I would get, fully expecting to be forced to bail in order not to get injured. To my surprise, the cross-training-heavy approach kept me mostly healthy until the taper.

Training

I loosely followed the above-mentioned plan with a few modifications:

• I only did threshold workouts as faster running has a higher risk of injury for me. I mainly did 4-6x1mi at threshold for my tempo workouts.
• I added 2 weekly strength training sessions for injury prevention, focusing on single leg quad/glute and calf exercises
• I swapped some bike workouts for VO2max work in the beginning as my bike fitness going in was already pretty good. This resulted in the following weekly structure:

Mo: Easy Swim

Tue: Z2 run + strides

Wed: 60-75min threshold on the bike (e.g., 4x8mins at 90%FTP)

Thu: 4-6x1mi at threshold, 8-10mi total

Fr: Easy Run, Easy Swim

Sat: 1.5-3.5hr bike (mostly Z2)

Sun: Long Run as per the plan's progression

This had me at 30-40mpw of running (peak at 40) for the duration of the plan.

Training went mostly well until the taper (see below).

What worked:

• 4 runs a week made recovery manageable
• Swimming is SO good to loosen up tight calves!
• Stacking running and cycling workouts on back-to-back days is no problem
• Down weeks allowed for enough recovery
• Training had a lot of variety and was a lot of fun!

What didn't work well:

• I feel like the progression of mileage and intensity was too rapid, mainly for the long runs. Even though I stayed healthy for the most part, I felt I was on the brink of injury a lot. Ultimately, I think a 12 week block starting from a 12mi long run just isn't enough for a progression needed for a faster-than-just-finish marathon. In the future, I'd ramp up easy long run mileage first and then switch to adding intensity to the long runs which necessitates a longer block or just higher base mileage.
• I felt great aerobically - I could run 8:30min miles at a ~140-145HR which is very much Z2 for me. Given that my goal pace was ~8min miles, this was encouraging. However, I felt like I had to push harder muscularly than what Z2 should feel like for those paces which probably should have been a warning sign for the race.

I did pick up two niggles (an unhappy achilles and some flare-up of my knee) just in time for the recovery weeks and missed a few of the runs during those that I simply replaced with cross-training. The only bigger problem I encountered was hip flexor pain after the final long run two weeks out from race day. I was surprised because that run was already with reduced mileage and I thought I was in the clear. I didn't run for a week straight and only got back into it during race week but my hip fortunatley felt 99% fine. I don't think I lost a crazy amount of fitness (I supplemented with cross-training) but still, it was a discouraging experience.

Pre-race

Carb-loaded like crazy for two days (10g per kg of bodyweight) which actually was easier than expected with frequent meals and snacks and a lot of fruit juice. Drove down to Olympia the day before the race. Even though I completed my marathon-paced workouts at 7:50min miles, the fatigue I experienced towards the ends of my long runs had me skeptical I was in 3:30 shape. Given that I'd also missed some running during the taper, I decided to update my goal and go out more conservatively at 3:40 pace (~8:23min miles). Fueling-wise, my plan was to alternate caffeine (100mg) and non-caffeine gels with 40 and 50g of carbs, respectively, every 30mins. In addition to that, I brought a handheld and a bunch of skratch packets (30g carbs, 500mg sodium) that I refilled at aid stations. Once I had nailed the on-the-run Walter-White-ing the powder in the bottle (highly recommend to pre cut the packages a little bit), this worked absolutely great! This approach had me at 110-120g of carbs an hour. I estimate I drank around 2-2.5L during the race.

Race

Right before the race, I bent down and pulled something in my lower back. This sometimes happens to me, so I knew it wasn't catastrophic but still, what the fuck man? On the plus side, the back pain had me distracted and I completely forgot to worry about my hip during the early miles of the race.

The initial miles went by okay. The course features an early steady climb, followed by a slow net downhill through rolling terrain between miles 5 and 15. After the initial climb, I settled into a comfortable rhythm, plugging away at around 8:10min miles. Generally, I kept feeling better and better and since my heart rate was in the low 150s I felt no reason to slow down. The effort felt comfortable, too. The course had a few punchy downhills which weren't super enjoyable and probably killed my quads a bit. I tried to stay relaxed and get to mile 15 without accumulating too much fatigue.

Around mile 13, I felt the first ever-so-slight onset of a cramp. I never had this problem in training before and I was surprised how early this hit me - after all, I had done stuff like 2x5mi MP as part of a long run in training, and at a faster pace than I ran during the race. I tried to combat the cramps by eating salt tabs in addition to the electrolyte drink I was consuming. I don't know if it helped or not but I managed to hold off the cramps until mile 18 or so until my hamstring seized up for the first time and I had to walk for 30s for it to relax. From then on, things gradually went downhill. Around mile 20, I had another bad cramp episode and from 21 miles on on, IT Band pain (outer knee) was added to the mix. Unfortunately, the gait-adjustment I had to make to keep the IT Band pain bearable would fire up the cramp in my hamstring and so I was walking more than I liked to. The gradual decline continued up to the point that I was barely able to run the last mile. I managed to pull it together for another bout of running every time but each time, a cramp or some sharp pain would eventually force me to walk. With .3mi to go, I tried to mobilize one last push to make it sub 3:50 but it was too late and I finished in 3:51 and change.

Post-race

Having finished in just barely under 4 hours had me pretty demoralized at first. At the same time, I think 3:40 was a reasonable time to target and I'm glad that I did it because I learned something:

• Aerobically, this was mostly easy. My HR maxed out in low Z3 for almost all of the race and felt 100% comfortable. Even after the race, I felt negligible central fatigue.
• Obviously, muscular endurance was the main limiter for me. Even ignoring the cramps, my quads were absolutely shot by the end and while I could've probably held the pace enough to break 3:45 or even 3:40 (given that I had started a bit faster), it is evident that my resilience did not keep up with my aerobic fitness.
• I think this is where a cross-training-heavy approach has its limits: Yes I have strong legs from cycling but in order to withstand 26 miles of eccentric contractions, cycling isn't going to cut it. I had a strong engine and a weak chassis.
• I'm curious whether a more thorough strength training regimen would've helped, here (as in: Heavier weights and better attention to targeting all leg muscle groups). Notably, my calves and quads were fine during the race but I hadn't done much strength training for my hamstrings. Maybe this would've prevented (some of) the cramping.
• I think the plan's long runs didn't have enough of a fatigue resistance focus. 20mi with 3x3mi MP in the middle is a thorough quality long run, but you can always jog it home. I think something like progressive long runs or steady long runs at 90-95%MP would have improved and/or highlighted my lack of resilience earlier.
• I think there just wasn't enough running. Not enough base, not enough consistent weekly mileage, not enough quality long runs with a fatigue resistance target.

Discussion

Curious to hear people's thoughts! Are you able to incorporate cross training with better success? Any thoughts about cramping?

Made with a new race report generator created by u/herumph.